Time to shave your heads?

13-1 loss against the Pirates, eh? To use their language, Arrrrrgh!

It’s hard to forget last year’s Head Shaving Metscapade (I especially loved that video capturing Shawn Green in the dugout saying “My head is cold, man. I don’t like it.” Oh, poor Shawn Green. With the ears.) But let’s remember why it happened in the first place.

The immediate reason seemed to be that David Wright was slumping. So his teammates gathered together in support. But the ultimate effect was that yes, the team gathered together. Acted as one. Had a laugh, some fun, and relaxed. At least for a moment.

We all know that something isn’t clicking. You’ll hear people ask “What’s the character of the team?” “Who’s the leader?” “Where’s the comaraderie?” Beyond demands to Fire Willie! Or Get rid of Delgado! Or whatever siren call is blasting on any given day, could the biggest problem be that the team’s just plain not enjoying itself anymore?

Have you ever worked a dreary job? Bet you find it hard to focus. Maybe you made some mental mistakes. Except you don’t (likely) make millllions of dollars. Or have hundreds of thousands of people who care about your every move. Or have what should be the most awesome job ever.

What can be done? Not to improve the talent, the lineup, the rotation, the bullpen. What can be done to improve the basic energy of the clubhouse? The team needs to feel like a team, which they don’t seem to at this moment. Coherence. Spark. Unity. Fun. These are as important right now as–and perhaps prerequisites for–drive and focus.

Just look at 2006. Every other article, interview, blog post talked about the spirit of the Mets, the clubhouse comaraderie, the unity. Call it touchy feely if you want to, but for that year’s team, at least, it seemed to bloody well work,

So what do you have to do, boys? Let’s try to keep the hair this time, just for appearance’s sake. Backyard barbecue? Big *** party? Group finger painting? Some kind of retreat with those annoying “fall into our arms” trust exercises? Poker game? Mud wrestling?

Meta

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